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Mitchell S, Martín AJ, Guillén-Gosálbez G, Pérez-Ramírez J. The Future of Chemical Sciences is Sustainable. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202318676. [PMID: 38570864 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202318676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Chemistry, a vital tool for sustainable development, faces a challenge due to the lack of clear guidance on actionable steps, hindering the optimal adoption of sustainability practices across its diverse facets from discovery to implementation. This Scientific Perspective explores established frameworks and principles, proposing a conciliated set of triple E priorities anchored on Environmental, Economic, and Equity pillars for research and decision making. We outline associated metrics, crucial for quantifying impacts, classifying them according to their focus areas and scales tackled. Emphasizing catalysis as a key driver of sustainable synthesis of chemicals and materials, we exemplify how triple E priorities can practically guide the development and implementation of processes from renewables conversions to complex customized products. We summarize by proposing a roadmap for the community aimed at raising awareness, fostering academia-industry collaboration, and stimulating further advances in sustainable chemical technologies across their broad scope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Antonio J Martín
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Javier Pérez-Ramírez
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
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Nabera A, José Martín A, Istrate R, Pérez-Ramírez J, Guillén-Gosálbez G. Integrating climate policies in the sustainability analysis of green chemicals. GREEN CHEMISTRY : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL AND GREEN CHEMISTRY RESOURCE : GC 2024; 26:6461-6469. [PMID: 38840851 PMCID: PMC11148852 DOI: 10.1039/d4gc00392f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
New and enhanced processes will not be the only drivers toward a sustainable chemical industry. Implementing climate policies will impact all components of the chemical supply chain over the following decades, making improvements in energy generation, material extraction, or transportation contribute to reducing the overall impacts of chemical technologies. Including this synergistic effect when comparing technologies offers a clearer vision of their future potential and may allow researchers to support their sustainability propositions more strongly. Ammonia and methanol production account for more than fifty percent of the CO2 emissions in this industry and are, therefore, excellent case studies. This work performs a prospective life cycle assessment until 2050 for fossil, blue, wind, and solar-based technologies under climate policies aiming to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, 2 °C, or 3.5 °C. The first finding is the inability of fossil-based routes to reduce their CO2 emissions beyond 10% by 2050 without tailored decarbonisation strategies, regardless of the chemical and climate policy considered. In contrast, green routes may produce chemicals with around 90% fewer emissions than today and even with net negative emissions (on a cradle-to-gate basis), as in the case of methanol (up to -1.4 kg CO2-eq per kg), mainly due to the contributions of technology development and increasing penetration of renewable energies. Overall, the combined production of these chemicals could be net-zero by 2050 despite their predicted two to fivefold increase in demand. Lastly, we propose a roadmap for progressive implementation by 2050 of green routes in 26 regions worldwide, applying the criterion of at least 80% reduction in climate change impacts when compared to their fossil alternatives. Furthermore, an exploratory prospective techno-economic assessment showed that by 2050, green routes could become more economically attractive. This work offers quantitative arguments to reinforce research, development, and policymaking efforts on green chemical routes reliant on renewable energies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhinandan Nabera
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir Prelog Weg 1 Zürich 8093 Switzerland
| | - Antonio José Martín
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir Prelog Weg 1 Zürich 8093 Switzerland
| | - Robert Istrate
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University Einsteinweg 2 2333 CC Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Javier Pérez-Ramírez
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir Prelog Weg 1 Zürich 8093 Switzerland
| | - Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich Vladimir Prelog Weg 1 Zürich 8093 Switzerland
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Li A, Cao T, Feng L, Hu Y, Zhou Y, Yang P. Recent Advances in Metal-Hydride-Based Disease Treatment. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:5355-5367. [PMID: 38265885 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c16668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
In comparison to traditional antioxidant treatment methods, the use of hydrogen to eliminate reactive oxygen species from the body has the advantages of high biological safety, strong selectivity, and high clearance rate. As an energy storage material, metal hydrides have been extensively studied and used in transporting hydrogen as clean energy, which can achieve a high hydrogen load and controlled hydrogen release. Considering the antioxidant properties of hydrogen and the delivery ability of metal hydrides, metal-hydride-based disease treatment strategies have attracted widespread attention. Up to now, metal hydrides have been reported for the treatment of tumors and a range of inflammation-related diseases. However, limited by the insufficient investment, the use of metal hydrides in disease treatment still has many shortcomings, such as low targeting efficiency, limited therapeutic activity, and complex material preparation process. Particularly, metal hydrides have been found to have a series of optical, acoustic, and catalytic properties when scaled up to the nanoscale, and these properties are also widely used to promote disease treatment effects. From this new perspective, we comprehensively summarize the very recent research progress on metal-hydride-based disease treatment in this review. Ultimately, the challenges and prospects of such a burgeoning cancer theranostics modality are outlooked to provide inspiration for the further development and clinical translation of metal hydrides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Li
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, People's Republic of China
| | - Tingting Cao
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, People's Republic of China
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, 600 Dunyu Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, People's Republic of China
| | - Lili Feng
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, People's Republic of China
| | - Yaoyu Hu
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, People's Republic of China
| | - Yaofeng Zhou
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, People's Republic of China
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, 600 Dunyu Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, People's Republic of China
| | - Piaoping Yang
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, People's Republic of China
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D’Angelo S, Mache J, Guillén-Gosálbez G. Absolute Sustainability Assessment of Flue Gas Valorization to Ammonia and Synthetic Natural Gas. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2023; 11:17718-17727. [PMID: 38130844 PMCID: PMC10731640 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c05246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Carbon capture and utilization has gained attention to potentially curb CO2 emissions while generating valuable chemicals. These technologies will coexist with fossil analogs, creating synergies to leverage circular economy principles. In this context, flue gas valorization from power plants can assist in the transition. Here, we assessed the absolute sustainability of a simulated integrated facility producing ammonia and synthetic natural gas from flue gas from a combined-cycle natural gas power plant based in Germany, using hydrogen from three water electrolysis technologies (proton exchange membrane, alkaline, and solid oxide cells), nitrogen, and CO2. For the first time, we applied the planetary boundaries (PBs) framework to a circular integrated system, evaluating its performance relative to the safe operating space. The PB-LCA assessment showed that the alternative technologies could significantly reduce, among others, the impact on climate change and biosphere integrity when compared to their fossil counterparts, which could be deemed unsustainable in climate change. Nevertheless, these alternative technologies could also lead to burden shifting and are not yet economically viable. Overall, the investigated process could smoothen the transition toward low-carbon technologies, but its potential collateral damages should be carefully considered. Furthermore, the application of the PBs provides an appealing framework to quantify the absolute sustainability level of integrated circular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastiano
Carlo D’Angelo
- Department of Chemistry and
Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical
and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Julian Mache
- Department of Chemistry and
Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical
and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez
- Department of Chemistry and
Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical
and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
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